


Over the bridge

by Dragonetgirl



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Comfort, F/M, Gen, SHIDGE, Writing swap, minor injury, post apocalyptic, some blood, wild dogs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-09
Updated: 2018-06-09
Packaged: 2019-05-20 02:43:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14886131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragonetgirl/pseuds/Dragonetgirl
Summary: When Shiro and Pidge are separated from the others they have to make their own way to safety, and rely on each other to make it there in one piece.





	Over the bridge

**Author's Note:**

> This was for a swap event and I picked the prompt post apocalyptic.

Shiro threw another log on the fire, sparks spitting and hissing like an angry cat. The old house they were in gave them shelter from the cold drizzling rain outside, wooden shutters, half falling off the windows, hid the gleam of their fire to any unwelcome outside eyes.

He glanced over at Pidge who was huddled under a damp blanket, turning a pair of glasses over in her hands

"They will be fine Katie" Shiro said softly, using her full name rather than her preferred nickname. Pidge looked up, large amber eyes reflecting the flickering flames. She nodded but said nothing. Her thoughts wandering to what the others in their group might be up to. If they were ok. If they had managed to escape the raiders surprise attack. If Matt was ok.  
Shiro could see her starting to over think and moved round to sit by her side. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to his side. Her stiff form slowly relaxed in the safety of his arms.

“I'm worried Shiro, Matt"s leg was bothering him yesterday. What if he couldn't keep up? What if…”Shiro tightened his arms around her shoulder.  
“Pidge, Matt will be fine. The others would never leave him behind; they would carry him if necessary.”

She leaned into his side and sighed, “I know I just…”

"Worry?"

"Yeah, worry"

They were silent for a few minutes, content with their own thoughts and the sounds of the fire.  
A small snore eventually broke through Shiro"s thoughts, glancing down he saw that Pidge had fallen asleep. Carefully he picked her up, trying not to wake her, and carried her a few steps to their sleeping bags. Pidge mumbled and turned over in her sleep as he laid her down and folded her sleeping bag over her. He gently extracted matts old glasses from the tangle of her fingers and stored them safely in her backpack.

He had already set up a perimeter alert around the house and made sure the other rooms were clear and secure before they made camp that night, but he couldn't sleep, not yet. He was as worried about the others as Pidge was, but he hid it better. The only drawback was the worry kept him awake.

To try and distract himself he checked their supplies, several items were laid out drying on the stones in front of the fire, and they had enough food to last a week or more at a push.  
He pulled out his machete and inspected the blade, it was sharp with no rust. He hated using it, but it had become increasingly necessary with more raiders they encountered. Not for the first time he wondered if where they were heading was the right thing to do. Weeks before they had received a radio message, saying that there was a well-fortified community and it was trying to contact other survivors. After a brief discussion they had all agreed to make their way to the new base, with the hope of finding a safer home. Even if the way there was dangerous.

He looked over at Pidge’s sleeping form and knew the answer to any of his concerns. He would follow her anywhere, he was never going to leave her side, no matter the danger. He wrapped a blanket around his shoulders and leant against his pack. The sounds of the rain outside, the fire popping in the hearth, and Pidge’s soft breaths, eventually lulled him into dreamless, but welcome sleep.

\----

The next day dawned, shrouded in thick fog that muffled sounds and made the sun struggle to pierce it. Shiro and Pidge followed the road, skirting any abandoned cars and giving a tipped bus a wide berth. They eventually came to a bridge that stretched over water and vanished into the mist on the far side.

"Welcome to Altea, the shining city," Pidge muttered under her breath, looking at a large metal sign that stretched across the bridge entry.

The welcome sign, once a bright blue, was now crusted with rust. A large quarantine sign had been plastered over half of it, and several torn others fluttered along the bottom. A large faded ‘KEEP OUT’ had been spray painted in red over it all. Pidge squinted into the mist. "This the only way across?"

Shiro nodded, "I would rather avoid this crossing, but the next one is two and a bit days walk from here. Unless we find a boat - since we can’t swim across - it's too far to go with all our gear."

Pidge shivered and pulled her hoodie closer, she didn't like that they couldn't see less than five meters from their noses, but they needed to cross; the others may already be waiting on the other side for them. If they made it. They set off, keeping close to the side of the road and the barrier, and an eye on the cars sitting bumper to bumper, slowly rusting into the tarmac. Shiro held his machete in a tight grip, eyes constantly scanning the surroundings for any sign of movement. As they neared the end of the bridge there was a break in the mist and they were able to briefly glimpse the once lively city of Altea, with its once tall glittering buildings, were now dark and ominous. Several tilted at odd angles and one leaned against another. They could hear nothing from the dead city. Pidge was about to say something when a small noise caught her attention. She spun round and peered into the dissipating mist.

"Shiro!" she hissed. Shiro cautiously took a step towards Pidge ready to strike anything that emerged from the mist. The sound came again, followed by a low growling, and a scrawny dog limped into view. Its hackles were up, and its ribs stuck out and its eyes, were locked on Pidge.

"Pidge, move very slowly, don’t alarm it." whispered Shiro, his own eyes locked on the dog. Pidge slowly started to move away from the dog. It snarled, lips pulled back over yellowing teeth. Another growl joined it, quickly followed by several others. By the time Pidge had backed up against Shiro, seven dogs had appeared from the mist, all starving and desperate for food. No matter where or who it came from. Shiro and Pidge backed up as far as they could go, until their backs were pressed against the railings at the edge of the bridge. Pidge glanced over her shoulder spying the murky water below through the mist. It was a long way down.

"Pidge climb up on the railing, and when I say jump..." said Shiro in a low voice.

"No, I'm not going to jump!" hissed Pidge, interrupting him, "I’m not going to leave you!"

"Pidge trust me, these dogs are starving and possibly rabid, the only way we are getting off this bridge is over the side."

Pidge eyed the approaching dogs, she could see the manic look of desperation in their eyes. 

"I don't want to leave you! I can help" She added uncertainty. She may be small, but she could still hold her own.  
"Pidge I will be right behind you, I will hold the dogs off while you jump," he took his eyes off the dogs to look into hers. "I promise, I will be right behind you"

The moment he took his eyes off the dogs, one - seeing its chance - sprang forward. Shiro barely managed to block it from tearing into Pidge. Instead, it sank its teeth into Shiro's arm, slicing through the leather of his jacket and sinking into his skin. Shiro dropped his machete and gripped the dog’s scruff with his other hand, tearing the beast from his arm. The dog howled and tried to twist out of his grip, but Shiro threw it into the side of a car, causing it to yelp in pain. One of the larger dogs gave it a cursory glance before turning back to snarl at Shiro, the dogs knew he was a threat now. Pidge felt her stomach churn, Shiro’s jacket was slowly darkening as blood seeped through.

"Pidge they are after you. You are the smaller and easier target. You need to get out of here, now!" hissed Shiro through the pain.  
Pidge scrambled over the guardrails, the tang of salt in the air mixed with the metallic tang of Shiro"s blood. She looked down and saw the water below, but couldn't jump.

The remaining dogs spurred on by their packmate’s attack, and seeing that Pidge was escaping, swarmed forwards, barking wildly. Shiro blocked one from snapping at Pidge’s ankle and struck another across the back, causing it to yelp in pain and retreat, the other dogs backed away snarling, flanking each side of him, looking for an opening to get past.

"Jump!" yelled Shiro, readying for another attack. Pidge gulped and closed her eyes, but still couldn't jump. The fear of what might be below stronger than the fear of very real dogs tearing her to pieces.  
"I"m sorry Katie" was all the warning she heard. 

She felt a sudden sharp shove in the small of her back and she was suddenly airborne. She got one last look over her shoulder at Shiro, fear and concern etched into the lines of his face, before it was swallowed up in the mist and the howls of starving dogs as their prey escaped.

The cold water hit Pidge like a punch to the gut, she flailed wildly to keep her head above the water, while her sodden clothes threatened to drag her under. Thankfully, she wasn't far from the shore and soon crawled her way up the muddy bank. The sounds of dogs barking drifted over the water, but Pidge couldn’t see if Shiro had made it into the mist covered water. Shivering she stood and stamped her feet, cold water seeping into her boots and sloshing about. She knew she needed to get dry and warm, and fast, but Shiro was still out there. He had to be.

Pidge glanced up and down the bank. The dogs had stopped barking and the silence was pressing in on her. "Maybe Shiro got caught in a tide, he might have washed out to sea! What if he didn't jump, and the dogs got him? I shouldn't have jumped, I should have stayed!" Pidge stamped her foot terrified and frustrated with herself. She was useless, she couldn't help him when he needed it. Tears came unbidden to her eyes. This was her fault; Shiro had been hurt because of her!

She took a deep breath and screamed his name. It echoed across the water, and the mist swallowed it up greedily. She called out again and again, until her throat was raw, tears running unchecked down her cheeks. Eventually, her cold and sodden clothes became too obvious to ignore anymore. She found a sheltered corner under the bridge and started up a fire with what dry driftwood she could find.  
If Shiro had escaped the dogs he might come looking for her, and her best bet at being found would be staying where she was.

She spread out her clothes and items from her pack to dry, but couldn't sit still. Soon as the clothes she wore felt dry enough, she walked back to where she crawled out of the water. The mist was starting to thin again and she could see further down the shore than before. Just at the very edge of what she could see, was a dark shape, that lay half in the water on the shore, the waves lapping at it. Pidge started for it slowly, cautious in case it was something unfriendly, then picked up her pace as it came into focus. Shiro lay on his side, his face turned away from her. She skidded to a halt, falling to her knees by his side, rolling him over. 

Pidge sucked in a breath. Blood from his bitten arm stained the sand, and Shiro’s face was a worryingly pale.

"Shiro! Wake up! Please wake up! You can't die now!" Pidge begged, shaking his shoulder.

Shiro coughed and groaned, "P... Pidge? Told you… I would be right behind," he murmured.

Pidge grinned, despite her worry. "And you don't break promises do you."

"Never." Shiro gave a weak laugh and tried to sit up, but his injured arm caused him to hiss in pain. 

Between the two of them, mostly Pidge acting as a crutch, they made their way back to the fire Pidge had built and Pidge set about cleaning Shiro's arm, while his things dried over and around the fire.The dog bite wasn't too deep, but it was large, the ragged edges already looked infected and Pidge worried that the dogs might have had rabies, or something else equally as nasty. She didn't have the right treatment for those infections and hoped that if they cleaned the wound and dosed him with the few heavy antibiotics, he would be ok. But Pidge knew it would need to be looked at by a real doctor, her meagre first aid skills were limited to bandages and handing pills over.

"Hunk would have been so much better at this than me," She muttered as she finished tying the clean bandage over his wound.

"You did… fine…" Shiro"s voice faded away, his head nodded forward onto his chest and he was silent. Pidge looked up and saw his pale face, eyes closed, and the worst-case scenario flashed across her mind.

Dead from blood loss.

She pressed her ear to his chest quickly, then breathed a sigh of relief, his heartbeat thumped steadily in his chest. A comforting reminder that he was still there with her. Just asleep after his ordeal. Pidge listened for a minute, the rhythmic sound a comfort and reassurance to her. Shiro snored lightly and Pidges eyes closed, joining him in sleep.

It had been a long day for the both of them.


End file.
